Konstantin Grcic: Panorama

Description

The book "Konstantin Grcic - Panorama" contains the first catalogue raisonne of the designer's work and documents over 400 pieces of furniture, products and exhibitions with informative details, images and comprehensive descriptions. This overview is accompanied by numerous illustrated essays from renowned authors, including Peter Sloterdijk, Richard Sennett, Paola Antonelli, Jonathan Olivares, Mario Carpo, Louise Schouwenberg, Jan Boelen, Janna Lipsky and Mateo Kries. While some essays investigate Grcic's oeuvre and its context, others address overarching issues that shape Grcic's work, such as new production technologies, evolution of the home environment or the development of public spaces. The book is further augmented by a series of images depicting visionary spatial designs by Grcic demonstrating his conceptions of life in the future. All these facets combine to make the book a unique panorama of a designer whose contemporary influence is widely felt - as well as a fascinating read for all those with an interest in the future of design.

German industrial designer Konstantin Grcic has always straddled the lines between design and contemporary art, technology and craft, so it's fitting that Panorama, his solo show at the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein earlier this year included immersive multimedia installations. The companion book is equally engaging, defying the usual conventions of a retrospective. Fans of his work, from commissions for Herman Miller and Flos to smaller studio pieces, will marvel at the detailed insight into oeuvre provided by photos of his archive of things. The notion of time is evident throughout the book, which connects his work to the past, present and future via a pictorial catalogue raisonne reaching back to the mid-1980s - a theme furthered by images of such futuristic concepts as an imagined studio and lab. With poetic passages from Grcic and essays by leading voices, including MoMA curator Paola Antonelli and architectural historian Mario Carpo, the book asserts Grcic as the true thinking man's designer.--Catherine Sweeney "Azure"